grass, and took off at about 5:12 am, before altering his direction to head for the start of the course—a gasometer at Wormwood Scrubs, within the required radius of the Daily Mail office in London. Cheered loudly by the thousands of spectators who anticipated his arrival, Grahame-White flew across the starting point and turned north-west toward Wembley. Standing on top of the gasometer, Harold Perrin, secretary of the Royal Aero Club, waved a flag to indicate the start of Grahame-White's attempt. By 5:35 am the aviator was over Watford, and at 6:15 am he flew over Leighton Buzzard. Crowds of cheering spectators were there to greet him as he flew above the line of the London and North Western Railway, at an altitude of about . Meanwhile, Perrin and two mechanics from Gnome et Rhône (who supplied the engine used on the Farman III) boarded one of two cars, and were headed for Rugby. Along the way, one car took a short cut across a field and crashed into a ridge; one occupant was seriously injured. Grahame-White made his first stop in Rugby just after 7:15 am. One of the cars that left London arrived about 10 minutes before he landed, and his mechanics attended to his aeroplane. News of his take-off in London reached the area, and a large crowd gathered; they were kept from the aeroplane by a group of boy scouts. Grahame-White was taken to nearby Gellings Farm, where he drank coffee and ate biscuits, and told those present about his journey. "It was wretchedly cold all the way ... and I was cold at the start. My eyes suffered towards the end, and my fingers were quite numbed." Grahame-White's average speed was estimated at more than ; a few of the vehicles following him from London did not arrive until some time after his descent. He took off again at about 8:25 am, but was unable to reach his next scheduled stop at Crewe. About outside Rugby a problem with the engine's inlet valves forced him to land in a field at Hademore, outside of Lichfield—about into the journey. On landing, he damaged a skid, and his mechanics were telegraphed for. While the necessary repairs were being made, Grahame-White ate lunch and then slept for a few hours, looked after by his mother, who had arrived by car. Meanwhile, a large crowd of interested spectators gathered,